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    Is there any point to NVIDIA Optimus?

    Discussion in '2015+ Alienware 13 / 15 / 17' started by Jumpwired, Feb 3, 2017.

  1. Jumpwired

    Jumpwired Notebook Consultant

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    Seems like G-sync users with Kaby models are getting the same battery life now. Is there any point to Optimus?
     
  2. Colonel Panic

    Colonel Panic Notebook Guru

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    Any actual benchmarks and tests from reputable sources...?
     
  3. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Optimus only for battery efficiency, outside of that its like level 3 cancer
     
  4. Jumpwired

    Jumpwired Notebook Consultant

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    Question remains, are the new Kaby models without it getting the same battery life?
    I've only had a few first hand reports and it seems like they are getting similar usage-- 4-6 hours with light use.
    Would like some more people with first hand experience to tune in.
     
  5. Colonel Panic

    Colonel Panic Notebook Guru

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    Will I've got Skylake and Optimus (4K Screen). I'm happy to run some benchmarks if you guys can point me in the right direction. Then all we need is someone with Kaby and a G-sync screen to do the same to compare. My specs are in my sig. Any volunteers that have the same hardware so we can do an apples to apples comparison?
     
  6. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    You can do without optimus using fn f7 to switch performance dgpu mode
     
  7. Kyle English

    Kyle English Notebook Consultant

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    Yes just do a battery test on Optimus and then one one dgpu on the same machine. Best comparo.

    I bet with actual usage (i.e. Not just typing a word document with wifi turned off) the times will be closer than you expect.

    I have a 7700 1070 120 hz but I can't see your sig to know if it's comparable.


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  8. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    I had the 15R3 with 6820HK/1070/4K, the battery last about 6 hours on optimus mode but just shy of 2h on dGPU mode.
     
  9. Kyle English

    Kyle English Notebook Consultant

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    Doing what? I get like 4-5 hours with 120 hz gsync watching movies.


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